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Juan Carlos Onganía
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Juan Carlos Onganía

35th President of Argentina

Juan Carlos Onganía Carballo (Spanish: [ˈxwaŋ ˈkaɾlos oŋɡaˈni.a]; 17 March 1914 – 8 June 1995) was President of Argentina from 29 June 1966 to 8 June 1970. He rose to power as dictator after overthrowing President Arturo Illia in a coup d'état self-named the "Argentine Revolution".2

From Wikipedia’s article on Juan Carlos Onganía (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Mar 17, 1914, died Jun 8, 1995.1

About

Onganía wanted to install in Argentina a paternalistic dictatorship modeled on Francoist Spain. While preceding military coups in Argentina were aimed at establishing temporary, transitional juntas, the Revolución Argentina headed by Onganía aimed at establishing a new political and social order, opposed both to liberal democracy and to communism, which gave the Armed Forces of Argentina a leading role in the political and economic operation of the country. Onganía implemented a rigid censorship that reached the press and all cultural manifestations such as cinema, theater and even poetry.

When the Armed Forces replaced the radical president in government with Onganía, they interrupted an attempt to set up the republic and led the country to the violence of the 1970s and subsequent decline.

From Wikipedia’s article on Juan Carlos Onganía, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedNation Military College3

Cultural and education policy

Onganía's rule signified an end to university autonomy, which had been achieved by the University Reform of 1918. Barely a month into his administration, he was responsible for the violation of university autonomy in the so-called La Noche de los Bastones Largos ("The Night of the Long Police Batons") in which he ordered police to invade the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires. Students and professors were beaten and arrested. Many were later forced to leave the country, beginning a "brain drain" that adversely affects Argentine academia to this day.

Onganía also ordered repression on all forms of "immoralism", proscribing miniskirts, long hair for boys, public kissing, and all avant-garde artistic movements. "Obscene" books including Lolita and Nexus were censored, as were some films including Loves of a Blonde and Blow-Up. Nightclubs were forbidden from having dim lighting. This moral campaign favored the radicalization of the middle classes, who were very overrepresented in universities.

In 1969, Onganía dedicated the country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

From Wikipedia’s article on Juan Carlos Onganía (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: politician, military officer.6

  • 1966 to 1970President of Argentina5
  • 1962 to 1965Chief of the Army General Staff5
  • Date not recordedFounded Hidronor SA4

Personal life

  • BornMar 17, 1914, Marcos Paz, Buenos Aires7
  • DiedJun 8, 1995, Buenos Aires8
  • CitizenshipArgentina9

Juan Carlos Onganía Carballo was born on 17 March 1914 in Marcos Paz, in the province of Buenos Aires, to Carlos Luis Onganía and Sara Rosa Carballo Sosa. Onganía is of Italian ancestry (Lecco and Como). His mother was of distant Portuguese ancestry.

From Wikipedia’s article on Juan Carlos Onganía (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

  • 1967Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav‎10
  • Date not recordedOrder of the Liberator General San Martín10

Sources

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